Elderly resident seeks criminal charges

Tuesday

Mar 11, 2014 at 2:00 AM

HAMPTON FALLS — An elderly resident is seeking criminal charges against the husband of the School Board chairwoman, alleging that the man forcefully "shoved" his surgically reconstructed right shoulder as part of what the resident believes was an effort to intimidate him into easing up on his public opposition to a hotly contested warrant article.

KYLE STUCKER

HAMPTON FALLS — An elderly resident is seeking criminal charges against the husband of the School Board chairwoman, alleging that the man forcefully "shoved" his surgically reconstructed right shoulder as part of what the resident believes was an effort to intimidate him into easing up on his public opposition to a hotly contested warrant article.

William Kenney, 76, of 10 Oak Drive, filed a police report Thursday night after an altercation allegedly occurred during and after a School Board meeting at Lincoln Akerman School.

Kenney claims John Ratigan, the husband of Chairwoman Robin Moyer Ratigan, "knocked into" him after Kenney accused the board of committing "intellectual dishonesty" in their discussions about the $6.4 million school renovation project, which is Article 1 on Tuesday's ballot. Ratigan, according to Kenney, later allegedly sneered at Kenney in a hallway of the school and allegedly "got in (his) face" again at the end of Thursday's meeting.

The alleged altercation didn't cause any immediate injury, according to Kenney, although he said he will bring Ratigan to court if local police don't take action in what Kenney calls a "direct assault" by a "thug."

"For four months (after the shoulder surgery in July) the heaviest thing I could pick up was a cup of coffee," said Kenney, adding he will go to court to seek a restraining order against Ratigan. "That's why (Thursday) night scared me.

"I think some sort of charge is not only deserved, but it's also expected. He's not going to push me around."

Kenney filed his four-page report Thursday night after attending the School Board meeting at LAS. Ratigan also reportedly filed a police complaint of his own that night, arriving at the station after Kenney and reportedly after Kenney had told Ratigan that he would be filing a report.

Ratigan couldn't be reached for comment Friday. When reached by phone Monday, Ratigan said he would withhold comment "until the police investigation is done."

Hampton Falls Police Chief Robbie Dirsa said Friday that he could confirm there is an active investigation into the matter, although he said he couldn't disclose any details about the incident or confirm any parts of Kenney's story because it would be "premature."

"We're still in the investigative stage, trying to determine what happened ourselves," said Dirsa, who said the media wouldn't be able to access either police report Friday. "This is a situation that, until I have more information, I just don't have anything to give you. It would be remiss of me to do that until I know the facts."

Dirsa couldn't be reached for additional comment Monday.

The Hampton Union has filed a formal request through the Right to Know law for copies of Kenney's and Ratigan's reports. Kenney has provided a copy of his police report to the Hampton Union, and he claims in the document that he is frightened of Ratigan.

"Quite frankly, I am scared of him and greatly fear the consequences of seeing him at any town meetings or in public," Kenney wrote in the copy of the report he provided. "I am scared of him."

Witnesses have told the Hampton Union contrasting accounts of the events during Thursday's meeting. Some confirmed Kenney's story and claimed that Ratigan approached Kenney, while others said Ratigan never touched Kenney and that Kenney was the one who instigated a verbal confrontation Thursday night.

Kenney has spoken out in previous public sessions about the renovation project, claiming that the School Board is misleading the public by using a $6.4 million figure that Kenney claims doesn't reflect the real cost of the project. He claimed it will cost about $10 million because it will include, by his estimation, about $3.6 million in interest.

Kenney was allegedly met with much "hostility" Thursday night by board members and members of the public when he tried to discuss this point, which he said he believes led to the incidents with Ratigan.

One of the alleged incidents, in which Ratigan allegedly stood in front of Kenney during the meeting and asked Kenney, "What are you going to do about (the threats)?" has Kenney particularly upset because he feels School Board members didn't do anything to show that they opposed Ratigan's actions.

"Not one school official did one damn thing," said Kenney.

Some witnesses have said Thursday's meeting wasn't hostile and that Kenney and another woman weren't allowed to speak about Article 1 because the School Board only takes public comment on agenda items. Article 1 wasn't on the agenda Thursday night.

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